Fringe

Item: For the Vagabond Believer
Author: Adam L.

For the Vagabond Believer

(2000)

Reviewed by Adam L.

Discogs Apple Music TIDAL Amazon Music Spotify YouTube Music

Label Bulletproof MusicReAL Magazine2000

alternative rock hard rock modern rock post-grunge

As I sit inside on what could quite possibly be the most beautiful day of this spring, I found myself longing for a hard-rock, metal mix of Dave Matthews and Pearl Jam. At the same time, I just happened to be assigned to reviewing this new album from New York-based Fringe. What luck! It had everything I was looking for. Now before you go passing this off as another rant by a cynical reviewer, I'll let you in a little secret: These guys are good. Very good.

The first thing that caught my ear was the U2-like riff using harmonics in the opening track, 'Believe.' It sounds eerily like the Edge (for those of you who haven't listened to secular music, that's the guitar player for U2). Add to that the almost supernatural combination of the voices of Dave Matthews and Eddie Vedder, and you get something familiar, but not quite. However, Fringe is not satisfied with imitation. They have their own style that's incredibly hard to pin down. During 'Believe,' it appears as a heavier U2, then they progress to more Dave Matthews Band-style without the violin and saxophones. They even experiment with alternate time signatures ('Deeper'), and augment the rock sound with strings, djembes, and even old-time electronic piano, which I personally love.

If you're really bored when you're listening, you might notice that there's a "hidden" track between tracks 5 and 6. It makes for a nice transition, especially into such a driving track as 'Lightspeed.' There's a great breakdown in the middle of the track with one heck of a acoustic-electric duet. That song also points to the biggest strength of Fringe--the electric guitar work. Without it, they would be just another modern rock quartet with no punch whatsoever, save for the drums. Sometimes, however, it does appear that the drums would be more appropriate in a rap-core band (at least sound-wise).

With the music firmly in check, we move to the one thing that sets Christian music apart from secular--the lyrics. If you're going to be picky, for a Christian band, there is not one single mention of "Jesus," "Christ," or "God." While this may be a little surprising, the chief positive of this approach is the complete avoidance of the cliches that have helped mainstream CCM become the stagnant force it is today, sucking up all that isn't mediocre in its midst. They use metaphors, similes, and (gasp!) allusions through songs that may have trite names ('Home,' 'Alive,' 'Alone,' 'Deeper,' 'Without You,' etc.), but contain powerful admissions of struggling that can only come through authentic Christians--something I genuinely appreciate more than any one person may know. But throughout the struggling, their chief message is one of hope, and it's what makes this album worth buying and listening to.